If you have a balun, you will read a short at the radio end of the coax
using an ohmmeter.
Howard #3
w a 9 y b w
----- Original Message -----
From: "Butch Bussen" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Friday, July 11, 2014 6:28 PM
Subject: Re: Huge disappointment!
> First thing to do is check coax with an ohm meter and see if you show a
> short. Some antennas do and I usually check this out before just so I
> know. You obviously have a short on the loop likely the coax. Who
> soldered those and did they check after soldering? Stupid question I
> know. Also, I am not sure if the dual band would show a short or not,
> but I'd check it. SLimple thing to try is redo the connector on the
> bottom end, easy to do and if you're lucky, that may be where the
> problem is. Good luck.
> 73
> Butch
> WA0VJR
> Node 3148
> Wallace, ks.
>
>
> On Fri, 11 Jul 2014, Dr. Ronald E. Milliman wrote:
>
>> I was so excited. Last night I told my wife, Palma, that I felt like a
>> kid
>> on Christmas Eve in anticipation of finally getting the guys over this
>> morning to help me get my antennas up. Well, the fellows from the local
>> ham
>> club came over early this morning, and we got busy working on all the
>> little
>> details in preparation for erecting my antennas, the Dual Band vertical
>> for
>> 144 and 440 and the full-wave, 80 meter loop. We drilled holes in the
>> foundation and wall for my coax and ground wire, got the loop attached to
>> the pulleys and the vertical on top of the mast. Finally, it was time to
>> hoist up the mast and position it in the wall bracket and secure the
>> base.
>> Then, the time came to connect the coax fittings and check it out with
>> the
>> antenna analyzer. Much to everyone's shocked and massive disappointment,
>> we
>> got SWR readings of 25 to 1, and even 31 to 1, which is as high as the
>> meter
>> would go. That is when the sick feeling developed in my stomach. What
>> greatly exacerbated the situation is that we got almost equally high SWR
>> readings on both coaxial feedlines. Just to see what would happen, I
>> connected the loop to my TS-590, and tuned across 20 meters and could
>> hear
>> nothing. I started unscrewing the coax fitting from my rig, and as I did,
>> the noise level in my TS-590 got really loud and then, dropped back to
>> very
>> low. That is when I discovered that if I completely unscrewed the outer
>> shell ground side of the PL259 and just kept the center conductor plugged
>> into the antenna input jack, that the noise level remained quite high,
>> and
>> as I tuned across the band, I could hear several signals, still not what
>> I
>> would expect, but I could hear signals. As soon as I screwed the outer
>> ground shield on the antenna jack, the radio went almost completely dead
>> again. Sounds like something is shorted somewhere, huh?
>>
>>
>>
>> To have one antenna system not work is one thing, but to have both of
>> them
>> not work is almost beyond chance. So, the guys left, and I still don't
>> have
>> any operational antennas. I'm not sure what we are going to do, but I
>> think
>> we need to do two things: One is to disconnect the coax from the ballun I
>> have connected to the loop and connect a dummy load to the coax and see
>> what
>> it shows on the SWR meter, and second, connect the antenna analyzer
>> directly
>> up to the ballun which is connected to my loop and see what it shows us.
>> Those steps will help us isolate the problem. As for the vertical, I
>> don't
>> know what to do with that one because it is way up on the top of the
>> mast,
>> and it was one hell of a job getting that mast erected up and in place.
>> It
>> took five guys to do it, and it was all they could do to keep it under
>> control while they worked it up and in place.
>>
>>
>>
>> So, guys and gals, it will be a little longer before K8HSY is up and
>> operational on the ham bands.
>>
>>
>>
>> 73,
>>
>> Ron, K8HSY
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Dr. Ronald E. Milliman
>>
>> Retired Professor of Marketing
>>
>> President: A3 Business Solutions (a3businesssolutions.com)
>>
>> President: M&M Properties
>>
>> Chair: American Council of the Blind's PR Committee
>>
>> Chair: American Council of the Blind's MMS Committee
>>
>> President: South Central Kentucky Council of the Blind (SCKCB.ORG)
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
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